Green-elf

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A Green-elf, @, is a type of monster that appears in NetHack. Among the randomly generated elves, Green-elves are only slightly stronger than Woodland-elves. They have a single weapon attack and possess sleep resistance, infravision and the ability to see invisible.

Eating a Green-elf corpse or tin has a 13 chance of conferring sleep resistance.

Generation

Green-elves can generate in small groups, and randomly-generated Green-elves are sometimes peaceful towards chaotic characters and always peaceful towards player elves. A Green-elf can grow up into an elf-lord.

Green-elves are generated with elven equipment using the following odds:[1]

The following information pertains to an upcoming version (3.7.0). If this version is now released, please verify that it is still accurate, then update the page to incorporate this information.

An elf will grow up into a elf-noble of the appropriate gender, rather than always becoming a male elf-lord regardless of gender.

Strategy

While not much more worrisome individually than Woodland-elves, Green-elves can still spell trouble if a group of them ambushes an unwary player.

History

The Green-elf first appears in NetHack 3.0.0.

Origin

Green elves (more commonly "wild elves") are derived from Dungeons & Dragons, where they are slightly based on the Silvan Elves of J.R.R. Tolkien's legendarium. "Silvan elves" in the context of Dungeons & Dragons can refer to either wood elves or wild elves, though the distinctions between the two are most pronounced in the 3rd and 4th editions of the game.

Wild elves parallel certain, sometimes-stereotypical traits associated with some real-life indigenous peoples: Like wood elves, they are reclusive, withdrawn and averse to civilization - but quite unlike them, wild elves dislike outsiders, being very slow to trust and highly intolerant of any offense to their person. Despite this, most prefer to let trespassers go freely, rather than harm or kill them and risk any more appearing; outsiders who learned anything that could be used against the tribe had their memories wiped. Those who do earn a wild elf's trust and respect are rewarded with a loyal friendship. Wild elven traditions are primarily focused on dancing, music and storytelling, design to reflect the ever-changing world around them rather than confine it to "sterile" literary form.

Wild elves are fond of wild animals as most elves are, and try to live in harmony with them, keeping some of them (even larger "dire" animals) as guardians. The rare tools they use regularly are naturally non-metallic and designed to be assembled or deconstructed at a moment's notice; they often have a "crude" aesthetic as a result, but are excellently-crafted and effective. Wild elves that leave their remote homelands for adventure are especially drawn to careers requiring physical strength: wild elf rangers and barbarians are particularly common, and even wild elf fighters are not unheard of. Having long abandoned magical tradition, wild elves rarely craft magical weapons, but are not especially averse to arcane magic like wood elves, even as they ultimately tend towards druidism or shamanism.

Variants

Some variants make adjustments so that female elves do not change gender when growing up and are given a properly named form.

dNetHack

In dNetHack, female Green-elves will grow up into elf-ladies.

Green-elves may appear among the court of an Elvenking or Elvenqueen (dNetHack)Elvenqueen-ruled throne room.

xNetHack

In xNetHack, Green-elves are moved to the Quendi monster class like all other elves.

References

  1. src/makemon.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 222: Default equipment for elves